Hi Everyone,
This is my first post and the first thing I would like to say is thank you for all your very interesting articles and comments.
I have at last moved on from my SLR's to DSLR and bought the 400d. I am very pleased witht the purchase but have soon realised that the kit lens is not the best, but I have to say it's a very good start.
I am in the market for a good walk about lens. The problem I am having is I'm suffering from information 'overload'. There is so much out there! I think I am leaning to the 24-105L. Obviously cost is important but I do want to get the right lens so if I have to pay more I will. One question I would like to ask is about IS. Why would you want to switch it off??
This is getting a bit long so i won't go on much more. Next year my daughter is getting married in South Africa and Game drives are being arranged so i need a good zoom telephoto. Again this is mind boggling which one?? Please can somebody help me?
Once again thank you all for all your great atricles.

Hello stjohn, and welcome to the Camera Labs forum.
Do you have any idea (from former experience) what the longest focal length should be for you to have (for the game etc.) This determines pretty much how your upgrade path should look like.
My first guess would be: at least 200mm, perhaps even 300mm.
Look at that thread to get a feeling for the reach you can have with such a zoom.

Hi, Thanks for fast reply. I would think I would be going for something between 200 - 300, so it looks like the 70 - 300, but which one??
Also what's the difference with the DO lense and are they better?
Look forward to your reply.

Interesting, but i think it's a bit over my head. What would you suggest? What about the other questions? 24-105 and IS?

As you might guess from my "signature" I am a fan of the 24-105. I use it as my walk around lens but not everyone would be happy with 24mm as the shortest focal length. As you have the kit lens that isn't really a problem. Build quality is just about as good as it gets with Canon lenses and I expect it to outlast my current camera body.

As for the game drives, I think you will need to be able to zoom in to at least 200mm (320mm 35mm equivalent) and hand-holding at such focal lengths really requires IS unless conditions (and the ISO you use) allow really short exposure times. If the need for such a lens is likely to be a one-off then might hiring be a possibility?

Hi Bob,
Thank you for your reply. It looks like I will have to go to my local shop and try out the 24-105 it looks like a good choice. Which of the 70-300 lens do you like best, the DO IS lens or the IS? I think I will buy because if I start using one I won't be able to let it go!
Thank you for your comments.

Hi Bob,Thank you for your reply. It looks like I will have to go to my local shop and try out the 24-105 it looks like a good choice. Which of the 70-300 lens do you like best, the DO IS lens or the IS? I think I will buy because if I start using one I won't be able to let it go!Thank you for your comments.

When I bought my 400D/XTi last year I had intended to go for the EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM because of its small size. I went off the idea after reading some reviews (e.g. PhotoZone). It's a fine lens but in the end I opted for the EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM which PhotoZone review here and SLR Gear review here. Lenses don't come much better than this in performance terms. I don't need anything faster than f/4 and if I end up needing a longer telephoto the lens is fully compatible with Canon's EF 1.4x Converter giving me 280mm at f/5.6. Even better, it was cheaper than the DO lens and Canon were offering an £80 cash back.

The EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM received a very positive review both at PhotoZone and at SLR Gear and is certainly one to consider, especially as it is half the price of the DO equivalent.

I usually use my EF-S 17-85mm IS USM as my every day lens and find it copes with most situations obviously not as well as Bob's 24-105 wich is a lot dearer lens, my big lens as you can see by my signature is the 70-300 "DO" lens mainly use this when photographing trains and I want to get past all of the signals and gantrys that are prolific where I go, also have a wide angle 10-22mm lens which does not get used a lot.

Leaving IS on... I always leave my IS switched on as at my age rapidly approaching 60 find that my hand is not as steady as it used to be also when on a tripod as the IS only comes in if it detects movement.

Hey Bob, what do you think of your EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM? And what's your opinion on multiplier's?

I'm delighted with it though I don't give it as much use as its quality or price deserves. The timing of the purchase was accelerated slightly by that £80 Canon cash back offer.

As for multipliers (or extenders in Canonese) there has been quite a lot of discussion about these in other threads. Canon are quite restrictive about which lenses they say are compatible with their extenders (and the 2x extender's list is even more restrictive than the 1.4x). Extenders will show up the defects in any lens very nicely but as the EF 70-200mmL IS USM is as sharp or sharper than many primes (though at f/4 it wouldn't be as fast) I have no concerns about using it with a 1.4x extender should I purchase one.

If I had a need for a really long telephoto then the most affordable choice in Canon's pantheon would be the EF 300mm f/4L IS USM. Affordable maybe only in relation to other long Canon glass, of course, but it is readily available for under £900 in the UK (€1350/$1800), and while it only has first generation IS the PhotoZone test results show it to be both optically and mechanically excellent. That report also gives the resolution figures when this lens is used with the 1.4x extender giving a 420mm telephoto and this combination still achieves very respectable resolution figures. In 35mm full-frame terms this is equivalent to a 672mm f/5.6 telephoto (long enough for the birders I imagine) for under £1100. Definitely a tick in the cropped sensor column in my opinion.

I think I'll wait for another rebate from Canon and then decide which lens to go with, either the 70-200mm f/4 USM L or EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L. Bob would 1.2 stops really make that much of a difference between the lens?

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Well, if you can run to an EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM IS you might need to wait for another rebate.

Obviously f/2.8 is nice to have for low light situations and those sports shots. A 70mm f/2.8 might also provide nice portraits with its shallow DOF though 70mm night be slightly long on a cropped sensor. Let us know how you get on.